Gooch gang boss Lee Amos held lag’s hand in jail as he clutched his chest and died

Lee Amos, 48, collapsed in his cell at HMP Oakwood, a privately-operated category C prison in Staffordshire, on April 22 last year after suffering a heart attack

Former Gooch gang leader Lee Amos, who was serving time in prison, collapsed and died following a heart attack, an inquest has determined. Amos, who had an undiagnosed heart condition, was discovered sweating and clutching his chest by a fellow prisoner who held his hand after he fell in his cell at HMP Oakwood, a privately-run category C prison in Staffordshire, on April 22 last year.

Despite receiving CPR in his cell, he later passed away in hospital at the age of 48. He was serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 35 years for a drive-by shooting at a wake in 2007, which saw mourners diving for cover as Amos and four other Gooch gang members opened fire.

The incident resulted in the death of 24 year old Tyrone Gilbert. Amos was also suspected in the murder of Ucal Chin, the man for whom the wake was being held, but the jury that convicted him of Mr Gilbert’s murder couldn’t reach a verdict.

The judge ordered that the charge lie on file, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Known by his alias ‘Cabbo’, Amos and Gooch gang leader Colin ‘Piggy’ Joyce were imprisoned in 2009. Joyce was also found guilty of Mr Gilbert’s murder and sentenced to serve a minimum of 39 years.

Six former Gooch members testified against the pair, who were also convicted of attempted murder and possession of firearms. Six weeks before Mr Gilbert’s funeral, Joyce ‘executed’ Mr Chin, 23, in a daylight ambush.

The pair’s crime helped earn Manchester the unwanted name ‘Gunchester’. Amos had suffered health problems behind bars and was being treated for Crohn’s disease, Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire Coroners’ Court heard today (August 20, 2015).

The court heard he took painkillers such as ibuprofen and was prescribed metronidazole for his Crohn’s disease, a chronic bowel disease which can cause severe pain. Another inmate, Mathew Wright, who was on the same wing, A Wing, told police he witnessed Amos sweating, ‘clutching his chest’ and struggling to breathe following a visit to the gym.

Mr Wright thought Amos had ‘had just worked hard in the gym’ that morning, Detective Constable Hayley Taylor, of Staffordshire Police, told the inquest. Amos asked the inmate to sit with him but his condition deteriorated and prison staff and then paramedics were called to the prison, said the detective.

DC Taylor told the hearing that Mr Wright comforted Amos, held his hand and told him ‘everything’s going to be alright’ until help arrived.

The inmate reported that Mr Amos’ lips turned blue and when paramedics arrived, they began CPR before he was rushed to New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton where he tragically passed away.

His cell was locked down and a search revealed no illicit drugs, only pain killers and his prescribed medication. Injuries were discovered on his body but these were ‘consistent’ with efforts to revive him, DC Taylor informed the court.

She concurred that ‘nothing untoward’ had occurred involving anyone else and Mr Amos.

Christopher Morris, an advanced nurse practitioner at HMP Oakwood, stated that Amos had been transferred to the prison on July 23, 2023, after stays at other facilities and that he underwent a ‘comprehensive’ health screening in accordance with guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). By this time, he had been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, he added.

Health records from previous prisons were forwarded to HMP Oakwood, he confirmed.

While at HMP Oakwood, Amos received treatment for Crohn’s under the supervision of a gastro-enteritis consultant at New Cross Hospital, Mr Morris explained. Five days prior to his collapse, Amos was prescribed antibiotics for a tooth abscess, the court heard.

Otherwise, his health was deemed ‘good’ and his notes contained ‘nothing’ to suggest he was at risk of a cardiac arrest, Mr Morris said.

In a statement presented to the inquest, HMP Oakwood custody officer Sophie Evans described Amos as ‘pleasant and easy to interact with’. She maintained she stayed ‘strictly professional’ whilst Amos ‘kept himself to himself’.

He was ‘polite’ and had raised a ‘number of concerns’ with her during his time there, Ms Evans noted.

On the morning before his collapse, she had unlocked his cell door and greeted him, finding him already dressed in shorts and a ‘gym top’, prepared for his usual gymnasium training session, the witness testified. “He seemed his normal self,” she recalled.

Recording a conclusion of natural causes, area coroner Emma Serrano said: “All the evidence I have heard leads me to conclude this was a cardiac-related death.”

She said he died ‘suddenly and unexpectedly’ and added that he had ‘no medical history’ of heart problems.

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